Method and apparatus for controlling site-specific operations

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for controlling a site-specific activity at a plurality of remote locations, for example, the inspection of geographically remote equipment or the gathering of data for a census. A mobile operator transports a portable tool to a plurality of locations where a site-specific activity is to be conducted. The portable tool includes a location detection device. Processing of data using the portable tool is enabled only when the portable tool is located proximate a designated site, as determined by the location detection device. In various embodiments, the enabled site-specific activity may include data recordation, data transmission, data reception, data processing, and/or the display of a data entry form.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/530,420, filed 22 Jun. 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/234,055, filed on 19 Sep. 2008 (now U.S. Pat.No. 8,244,276, issued 14 Aug. 2012). U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/234,055 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/136,770, filed on 25 May 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,428,419, issued 23Sep. 2008), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/901,746, filed on 28 Jul. 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,832,638,issued 16 Nov. 2010), which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/490,861, filed 29 Jul. 2003, all of which areincorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The presently described inventive subject matter relates generally tocontrolling site-specific activities related to remotely located assets.

BACKGROUND

There are many applications requiring the processing of data regardinggeographically dispersed assets. For example, railroad system assetsmust be inspected periodically, and the resulting inspection data mustbe reported in accordance with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)guidelines. Inspectors travel to the various track, wayside, gradecrossing and signaling component locations to perform inspections and torecord the resulting inspection data. In another example, census takersmust travel to a plurality of residences to gather data related topersons living at the respective locations. Traditionally, inspectionforms used to record such data had been hard copy paper forms. Systemscurrently being developed are able to record data in electronic formatusing a portable electronic tool. These systems improve the accuracy ofthe data recordation process by permitting data entry via pull-downmenus, button selection for simple yes/no answers, automatic data rangechecking, etc. However, there is still an opportunity for erroneous dataentry resulting from mistaken asset identification, and there is thepossibility of fictitious data entry by an unscrupulous operator.

European Patent Application EP 1 081 659 A1 describes a method forinspecting objects located at spread locations wherein each of theobjects is provided with a transponder. An interrogation devicetransported by an inspector activates a transponder when theinterrogation device is located a short distance from the transponder.In this manner, some assurance is provided that the inspector hasactually traveled to the location of the object to perform aninspection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In an embodiment, a method for controlling a tool comprises the steps oflocating the tool by a monitoring system, and enabling the tool toperform a site specific operation related to an asset when themonitoring system indicates that the tool is located proximate to atleast one of the site or the asset.

In an embodiment, an apparatus for controlling a tool comprises amonitoring system capable of locating the tool, and a processor enablingthe tool to perform a site specific operation related to an asset inresponse to the monitoring system indicating the tool is locatedproximate to at least one of the site or the asset.

In another embodiment, an apparatus for controlling a tool comprises alocation detector configured to determine a location of the tool, and aprocessor configured to enable the tool to perform a site specificoperation related to an asset in response to the location detectorindicating the tool is located proximate to at least one of the site orthe asset.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an equipment inspection datarecording system.

FIG. 2 illustrates steps in a process for enabling data recordation onlywhen a portable data recording device is at a selected equipmentlocation.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example data input display of a portableinspection data recording device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a data processing system 10 that may be utilized whenconducting inspections of railroad system assets as required by theFederal Railroad Administration, or when performing other site-specificoperations related to assets that are distributed among a plurality ofremote sites to which a mobile operator must travel to perform thesite-specific operation. The term asset is used herein in a broad senseto include equipment, structures, locations, persons, etc. The termsinspection and inspecting are used herein in a broad sense to includeactions related to physical inspection by visual, mechanical,electrical, chemical or other means; testing; maintenance; calibration;replacement; repair; or other such activities as may be necessary forremotely distributed assets. The term site-specific operation is usedherein in a broad sense to include any activity that is required to beperformed at a particular site. Such activities may include, but are notlimited to: inspecting; maintaining; repairing; controlling;interviewing; data processing or data handling, including data entry,data recordation, data sorting, data accessing, data recall, datatransmittal, data reception, data manipulation, data correlation orassociation, display of data or information derived from data, etc.; aswell as other activities performed or enabled by a person and/or amachine.

For an embodiment of the inventive subject matter utilized with railroadsystems, the asset 12 may include any track, wayside, structure orequipment associated with the railroad activities, such as signalingequipment, grade crossing equipment, rolling stock, bridges, rail,tunnels, etc. Equipment 12 located at a particular wayside location mayinclude a plurality of individual units of equipment associated with anequipment bungalow wherein power, control, and/or communicationfunctions are cooperatively linked.

Assets at each location may be associated with a unique asset identifierso that no two locations have the same identifier. The followingdiscussion will describe an embodiment utilized with railroad equipmentfor which the unique asset identifier may be referred to as a uniqueequipment identifier. For grade crossing warning equipment in the UnitedStates, the unique equipment identifier may be the number assigned bythe United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Alternatively, theunique equipment identifier may be the railroad's milepost number, abungalow number, or a derivative thereof. The unique equipmentidentifier may be any character set that uniquely identifies aparticular location where equipment to be inspected is situated.Individual units of equipment located at a single location may befurther associated with the respective unique equipment identifier, suchas with a sub-numbering system.

Equipment inspection data processing system 10 includes a portablerecording device such as inspection data recording device 14 that istransported by the mobile inspector to the various equipment sites. Thesystem 10 may also include a centralized data management portion 16 forthe collection of inspection data from a plurality of similar portableinspection data recording devices 14 and for the analysis of theinspection data. The data management portion 16 may be used for thedistribution of the analysis results and related information, forexample via a connection to a global information system such as theWorld Wide Web 18.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may be built upon anyavailable portable electronic tool, variously configured and describedas a personal information manager (PIM), pocket personal computer (PC),personal data assistant (PDA), personal mobile tool (PMT), etc. Theportable inspection data recording device 14 includes a processor 20having various input and output connections, as described more fullybelow.

A memory 22 is accessible by the processor 20. The memory may be a localportable memory that is transported as part of the portable inspectiondata recording device 14 and/or a remote memory accessible to theprocessor 20 via a communications link (not shown). Among other data,the memory 22 may contain a database associating a plurality of uniqueequipment identifiers with a respective plurality of physical locationsfor a universe of equipment 12 to be inspected by the mobile inspectorutilizing the portable inspection data recording device 14. Thisassociation may be accomplished via one or more look-up tables, forexample.

An operator-actuated input device such as keyboard 24 may be used toallow the inspector to input data to the processor 20 and memory 22. Inaddition to a keyboard, other forms of operator-actuated input devicesmay be used, including but not limited to a joy-stick, roller ball,voice-activated control, etc.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may also includevarious input devices designed to receive data directly or indirectlyfrom the equipment 12. Examples of such devices include a barcode reader26, a USB connection 28, and a sensor 30 such as a voltage meter,current meter, ohmmeter, timer, RF tag reader, etc.

The location of the portable inspection data recording device 14 isdetermined by a location detector 32 such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver transported with the portable inspection data recordingdevice 14. The location detector 32 provides a location signal 34responsive to the current location of the portable inspection datarecording device 14. Temporal information may also be provided via a GPSreceiver, or alternatively, a separate clock 36 may provide a timesignal 38 to processor 20. One or more other types of position detectiontechnology may be used to determine a current position of the datarecording device 14. For example, cellular telephones will soon beequipped with triangulation capability that will permit locationdetermining capability and communication capability to be integratedinto a single device. Furthermore, the location detector utilized incertain embodiments of the present inventive subject matter may includeprocessing capability located remote from the portable computing deviceitself, such as a centrally located monitoring system capable ofdetecting and locating the device 14 in space and/or in relation to adesignated site and then transmitting such position information to theportable device 14.

A display 40 may function as an output device for displaying a graphicaldisplay to the inspector, and/or it may be used as an input device, suchas when embodied as a touch-screen display or when used in conjunctionwith the operator-actuated input device in a point-and-click mode. Datamay be communicated through a transceiver 42 via a communication channel44 to and/or from a centralized database 46 that forms part of thecentralized data management portion 16. The communication channel 44 mayinclude wireless cellular or wired telephone communications, satellitecommunications, Internet connections including a Wi-Fi wirelessconnection, and the like. Alternatively, the communication channel 44may be provided by transporting the portable data recording device backto a computer for communicating the data via a wired or wirelessconnection to the computer. Centralized database 46 may be populatedwith current inspection data for equipment 12 at periodic intervalsdetermined by the inspector by selectively establishing communicationlink 44 via a suitable transmitter such as transceiver 42. Datacontained in centralized database 46 may be manipulated to producevarious types of reports, such as reports in compliance with FederalRailroad Administration requirements. One may appreciate that variousmemories and databases associated with system 10 may be resident on theportable inspection data recording device 14 or may be located off-boardthe portable inspection data recording device 14 and accessible via thecommunications channel 44.

Equipment inspection data processing system 10 enables inspection datarecording processes that provide improved data integrity when comparedto processes achievable with prior art systems, as described more fullybelow.

The location of equipment 12 to be inspected may be mapped and anidentifier may be assigned that is unique to the location of theequipment. For example, the latitude and longitude (or other uniqueequipment identifier) of a railroad crossing may be measured andrecorded in a database such as memory 22 and/or central database 46 andthen associated with the equipment located at that crossing. Detailsregarding the equipment may further be associated with the uniqueequipment identifier, such as the model number of hardware and/or therevision number of software at each mapped location. The location andequipment information may be displayed in a variety of formats, such asby being superimposed on a map on an Internet web page with hyperlinksprovided at points on the map where equipment is located. The hyperlinksmay provide additional details regarding the equipment at the particularlocation of the hyperlink.

One may appreciate that the systems and methods described herein do notrequire the existence of any special equipment at the asset location,such as a site-specific transponder as is known in prior art systems andmethods. Thus, the presently described inventive subject matter avoidsthe cost and time associated with the installation and maintenance ofsuch special equipment. Furthermore, the systems and methods describedherein do not necessarily require any special physical marking of theasset, such as bar coding, although such physical marking may be usedadvantageously in certain embodiments as described herein.

The inventory mapping process may be accomplished over a period of timeas inspectors visit the various equipment sites for routine inspections.When the inspector arrives at a particular site, the GPS receiver 32portion of portable inspection data recording device 14 is used toidentify the geographic location of the site. An inventory of theequipment at that site may then be accomplished, with the respectiveequipment inventory being associated with the geographic location inmemory 22 and/or in central database 46 via data through communicationlink 44. The memory/database may be updated over time to reflect serviceperformed to the equipment or any change, addition or modification tothe equipment. The database/memory may be accessed by softwareconfigured to allow searching in a variety of modes, such as byequipment type, by location, by time since last service date, etc. Datamay be presented in any format, including as a web page, whereinhyperlinks are provided to additional levels of detail regarding theequipment.

Memory 22 and/or database 46 may also contain an association between theunique equipment identifier for respective locations and individual onesof a plurality of data recordation forms appropriate for the specificequipment 12 at the respective location. In one embodiment, the formsmay be configured to comply with FRA reporting requirements.

To begin an inspection activity, the route of a mobile inspector may beplanned by using the equipment location information complied in theinventory-mapping step described above. Memory 22 is programmed withcurrent information relating the unique equipment identifier verseslocation information, and with current information relating appropriatedata recordation forms verses unique equipment identifier, as describedabove. The inspector then transports the portable inspection datarecording device 14 to the location of equipment 12 selected forinspection. The identification of the inspector may be made known to theprocessor 22 by incorporating logic requiring a password, a securedigital identification card, etc., and operation of the device 14 may belimited to one or more predetermined inspectors. Logic executable by theprocessor 20 may be programmed into the portable inspection datarecording device 14 to provide travel directions to the inspector viadisplay 40 in order to assist the inspector in arriving at the selectedequipment location. Such logic may be responsive to the unique equipmentidentifier for the selected equipment 12 inputted by the inspector, suchas via keyboard 24, and to the position signal 34. The selecteddestination location associated with the inputted unique equipmentidentifier in memory 22 is compared to the actual location of the device14 as indicated by location signal 34 to determine appropriate traveldirections for display.

Upon arrival at the selected equipment site, the inspector confirmshis/her plans for inspection by inputting the unique equipmentidentifier for the selected equipment. This step may have already beenaccomplished in order to obtain the travel directions described above,or it may be accomplished upon arrival at the selected site. If theinspector's route was planned geographically without prior knowledge ofthe unique equipment identifier associated with a particular location,the inspector may execute logic via processor 20 to index memory 22 withthe actual location as indicated by location signal 34 to determine thecorresponding unique equipment identifier for that location.Alternatively, the inspector may input the selected unique equipmentidentifier by using keyboard 24, or by scanning a bar code located onthe equipment using barcode reader 26, for example.

The portable inspection data recording device 14 may be programmed toallow the recordation and/or transmittal of inspection data only whenthe device 14 is actually at the location of equipment selected to beinspected. This ensures that the inspector has arrived at the correctlocation for performing the intended inspection, and it provides anadditional level of protection against erroneous data recordation. Thisalso precludes the recordation of fictitious data by a person locatedaway from the actual equipment location. To provide further assurance ofdata integrity and to provide information useful for work efficiencyevaluations, the system may automatically record temporal informationrelated to the arrival and dwell of the data recording device 14 at theparticular equipment location and/or at other locations to track themovement of the portable device 14. Both the location and temporalinformation may be derived from the global positioning system 32.

In one embodiment, data recording device 14 is provided with logicexecutable by the processor for indexing memory 22 with the uniqueequipment identifier that has been inputted by the inspector to identifythe associated location of the equipment selected for inspection. FIG. 2illustrates steps in a process 50 for enabling data recordation onlywhen a portable data recording device is at a selected equipmentlocation. The unique equipment identifier for equipment selected forinspection is inputted at step 52, such as by the inspector typing theidentifier into keyboard 24, or scanning a barcode with barcode reader26 or by pre-programming device 14 with a schedule of plannedinspections. The location of the selected equipment is then determined,such as by indexing associated locations saved in memory 22. The currentlocation of the portable data recording device 14 is then determined atstep 56 such as with location signal 34. That equipment location is thencompared to the actual location of the data recording device 14 at step58. If the actual location of device 14 does not correspond to thelocation of the selected equipment, the recordation of inspection datafor the selected equipment is precluded and step 56 may be repeated. Anerror message or travel direction information may be provided to theinspector at this point. If, however, the actual location of device 14does correspond to the location of the selected equipment, therecordation of inspection data for the selected equipment is enabled atstep 60. One may appreciate that other logic schemes may be usedaccomplish the result of enabling the recordation of data only when theinspector is physically located at the location of the equipment to beinspected.

The closeness of the match between the location of the inspection datarecording device 14 and the location of the selected equipment 12 thatis necessary to trigger the enablement of the recordation of inspectiondata may be programmed to any desired tolerance. This relationship maybe variously described herein as proximate locations or locations thatcorrespond, or being at a location, etc. While some location trackingsystems may have the ability to identify location to within a few metersor less, it may be practical in an embodiment of the presently describedinventive subject matter to consider the data recording device 14 to besufficiently close to the selected equipment location to enable datarecording if the two location coordinates are within ten meters of eachother or other site-appropriate value. For example, this tolerance maybe selected to permit the inspector to record data or to transmit datato the off-board database 46 while sitting in a vehicle parked near theequipment 12. The site-appropriate value may be selected and fixed inadvance, or it may be adjusted to accommodate a special situation uponcommunication from the operator to a centralized control location. Thiscapability may be useful, for example, when the asset being inspected islocated in a natural setting, such as a playing apparatus in a parksetting, and when an abnormal situation, such as flooding due to unusualrain accumulation, prohibits a normally close approach to the asset. Theoperator may communicate with a centralized control location, such ascentralized processor 46, to explain the situation, whereupon theproximity match necessary to enable the site-specific operation may beat least temporarily reprogrammed via remote communication via link 42.

In certain embodiments, such as when inspecting outdoor equipment, forexample some locations of traffic signals or telecommunication sites,the match between the designated site and the actual location of theportable electronic tool 10 may need to be measured in only twodimensions, such as latitude and longitude. In other embodiments, suchas when the designated site is within a building, for example utilitymeters in an apartment complex or patients in a health care facility orinventory in a warehouse, the location may need to be measured in threedimensions, such as latitude, longitude and altitude. Modern GPS andother positioning detection systems provide such capability. Theproximity between the portable tool and the designated site necessaryfor enabling the portable tool to be commanded by the operator toperform the site-specific operation may be specified as a desired valuein each of the dimensions, with the required proximity value notnecessarily being the same in each or any two of the dimensions. In oneembodiment, a first site-specific activity may be controlled by defininggenerally broad proximity limits in only the horizontal dimensions, suchas an activity associated with a building. A second group ofsite-specific activities within that building may then be controlledwith generally more narrow proximity limits, with vertical limits set torecognize the floor of the building and horizontal limits set todifferentiate locations of the site-specific activities on the floors.

The system 10 may enable the recordation of inspection data for theselected equipment 12 by providing an appropriate equipment-specificinspection recordation form(s) to the inspector via display 40 only whenthe current location indicates that the portable inspection datarecording device 14 is proximate the location correlated in memory 22with the inputted unique equipment identifier. A plurality ofequipment-specific data recordation forms may be stored in memory 22,and logic executable by the processor 20 may be responsive to theselected unique equipment identifier inputted by the inspector topresent the appropriate form. The format of the inspection datarecordation forms may be designed to simplify the effort for theinspector. Data may be input to the data recording device 14 manuallyvia keyboard 24, via a connected bar code reader 26, and/or viaconnection to other types of equipment at the location or brought to thelocation by the inspector such as through USB port 28, and via automaticdata population responsive to the position signal 34 and/or to theselected unique equipment identifier. Data that may be automaticallypopulated may include, among others, the location; the unique equipmentidentifier; the identity of the inspector; time data including, forexample, time of change of position of the recording device such as maybe useful for tracking the movement and activities of the inspector; anddata related to the selected asset such as serial numbers, performanceinformation, planned inspection points, warnings and instructions to theinspector, among others. Pull down menus and automatic comparison topermitted data values may be used to improve data integrity. FIG. 3illustrates an example data input display on the touch screen of aportable digital tool. Temporal information may be automaticallyrecorded. The system 10 may further permit the transmission ofinspection data for selected equipment from the portable inspection datarecording derive 14 to the centralized database 46 only when theposition detection device 32 indicates that the recording device 14 islocated at the location of the selected equipment.

The data processing system 10 may be utilized for other site-specificoperations. In one embodiment, system 10 is used in conjunction with acensus taking operation for the gathering of data regarding persons whoare associated with a designated location. Census takers are providedwith a list of residence addresses from which no written reply has beenreceived in response to a mailed request for information. The censustaker is directed to visit each residence and to conduct an interviewwith person(s) residing at that location. It is known that the integrityof such census activity is degraded as a result of erroneous data entryand as a result of dishonesty by census takers who complete a data formfor an address without ever visiting that residence. The incidence ofdishonest data input is expected to be reduced by enabling a portableelectronic tool such as portable data recording device 14 to becommanded by a census taker to perform a desired data handling operationassociated with the census only when the position detection device 32associated with the tool indicates that the tool is located proximate adesignated address. Such site-specific control may be exerted at any oneor more steps in the on-site process, such as during a data entry step,a data processing step, a data transmittal step, or a data receipt step.Furthermore, the incidence of erroneous data input is expected to bereduced by displaying an appropriate data recordation form via theportable tool for the entry of the census data related to person(s) atthe designated location only when the position detection device 32detects that the tool is located proximate the designated address. Thetool may also be used to improve productivity of the census taker bydisplaying on a display of the tool a map including the designatedlocation and a current geographic location of the tool as determined bythe position detection device 32, or by otherwise providing directionsto the census taker via the tool. Productivity of a census taker may beconveniently tracked by processing time data together with the recordeddata regarding the person residing at the address.

In the above discussion, it may be appreciated that a processor, such asprocessor 20 or a server of a base network, executing instructions of aprogram code product stored in a computer readable medium such as memory22, may perform the method steps discussed. It is understood that thevarious systems described herein may be realized in hardware, software,firmware or a combination thereof, and may be compartmentalized otherthan as shown. In one embodiment, a tool as described in United StatesPatent Application Publication US 2003/0061159 A1, incorporated in itsentirety by reference herein, may be programmed with appropriatesoftware code modules for carrying out the methods described herein. Thepresently described inventive subject matter may be embedded in programinstructions which comprise features enabling the implementation of themethods and functions described herein, and wherein when executed on aprocessor, the technical effect is to carry carrying out such methodsand functions to control a site-specific operation. The program code maybe stored on a computer usable/readable medium for access by acomputerized storage and retrieval system. Computer program, softwareprogram, software code module, program, program product and software inthe present context mean any expression in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular function,either directly or after conversion to another language, code ornotation, and/or after reproduction in a different material form.Various computer processing functions may be provided locally or via anetwork, such as for example the Internet.

While embodiments of the presently described inventive subject matterhave been shown and described herein, it will be obvious that suchembodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations,changes and substitutions will occur to those of ordinary skill in theart without departing from the inventive subject matter describedherein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a tool comprisingthe steps of: locating the tool by a monitoring system; and enabling thetool to perform a site specific operation related to an asset when themonitoring system indicates that the tool is located proximate to atleast one of the site or the asset, wherein the site specific operationincludes calibration of the asset.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thelocating step is performed in three dimensions.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the locating step comprises determining a location of thetool in the three dimensions, the three dimensions comprising latitude,longitude, and altitude.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein themonitoring system indicates that the tool is located proximate to the atleast one of the site or the asset based on a comparison of the locationof the tool in the three dimensions to at least one of a location of thesite in the three dimensions or a location of the asset in the threedimensions.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring systemindicates that the tool is located proximate to the at least one of thesite or the asset based on a location of the tool being within atolerance of at least one of a location of the site or a location of theasset.
 6. An apparatus for controlling a tool comprising: a monitoringsystem capable of locating the tool; and a processor enabling the toolto perform a site specific operation related to an asset in response tothe monitoring system indicating the tool is located proximate to atleast one of the site or the asset, wherein the site specific operationincludes calibration of the asset.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, whereinthe monitoring system is configured to locate the tool in threedimensions.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the three dimensionscomprise latitude, longitude, and altitude.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the monitoring system is configured to indicate that the tool islocated proximate to the at least one of the site or the asset based ona comparison of the location of the tool in the three dimensions to atleast one of a location of the site in the three dimensions or alocation of the asset in the three dimensions.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the monitoring system is configured to indicate thatthe tool is located proximate to the at least one of the site or theasset based on a location of the tool being within a tolerance of atleast one of a location of the site or a location of the asset.
 11. Anapparatus for controlling a tool comprising: a location detectorconfigured to determine a location of the tool; and a processorconfigured to enable the tool to perform a site specific operationrelated to an asset in response to the location detector indicating thetool is located proximate to at least one of the site or the asset,wherein the site specific operation includes calibration of the asset.12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the location detector isconfigured to determine the location of the tool in three dimensions.13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the three dimensions compriselatitude, longitude, and altitude.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the location detector is configured to indicate that the tool islocated proximate to the at least one of the site or the asset based ona comparison of the location of the tool in the three dimensions to atleast one of a location of the site in the three dimensions or alocation of the asset in the three dimensions.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the location detector is configured to indicate thatthe tool is located proximate to the at least one of the site or theasset based on the location of the tool being within a tolerance of atleast one of a location of the site or a location of the asset.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the location detector and processor arepart of the tool.